Thanks to a reader’s tip and an article in today’s Examiner, we find that Verizon’s first foray into graffiti ads has ended badly — the telecommunications company is being fined by the District for “illegal advertising on public space.”

On Monday we were first tipped off to Verizon’s graffiti ads. By Wednesday we learned that the District Department of Transportation expressed displeasure with the ads, which were to be found along Connecticut Avenue, Wisconsin Avenue, K Street, H Street and other locations. All told, 135 of the orange chalk stencil ads were sprayed onto sidewalks, and the District has indicated that it will fine Verizon $150 per ad — for a grand total of $20,250. In response, a Verizon rep was quoted as saying, “We don’t have any plans to paint more.”

That’s probably a good idea, guys. This may well be another example of why corporations shouldn’t try and appropriate youthful trends for the sake of their product or service. The whole idea of breaking the law is that one should do so anonymously, so plastering Verizon graffiti all over public property seems a little — how can we put it? — stupid.